Fabric treating machine



JOHN H. SHELTU/V BY M ATTORNEY Nov. 22, 1960 J. H. sHELToN 2,960,963

FABRIC TREATING MACHINE Filed April 15, 195s 2 sheets-sheet 2 Hlmj x /S/ A n-7 a 28 INVENTOR JOHN h'. SHE'LT/V BY @MM ATTORNEY United States Patent i FABRIC TREATING MACHINE John H. Shelton, 1209 Bedford Ave., Altavista, Va.

Filed Apr. 15, 1958, Ser. No. 728,623

3 Claims. (Cl. 118-419) This invention relates to the processing of continuously moving webs of flexible materials such as paper, fabric and the like. More particularly, it is concerned with providing a unique method and apparatus for the treatment of continuously moving webs of exible material, wherein various pieces of processing equipment can be taken out of the material treatment line, or change-overs made in such pieces of equipment without the necessity of stopping `or halting the moving web.

At the present time in the treatment or processing of various materials in web form such as paper, fabrics, plastics, etc., it is commonly accepted practice first to fabricate the material in the form of a continuous web, and thereafter to further process the web by passing it through one or more tanks or chambers, wherein the web is impregnated or coated with a particular chemical solution. Thereafter, the web may be passed through a heated chamber for the purpose of drying the coating.

One way in which webs are coated or impregnated is by immersion dipping of the webs in a particular chemical solution or liquor and although the instant invention will be discussed with particular reference to such a web treatment, it will be understood that the instan-t teachings may also be applied to other analogous processing steps generally used in the fabrication of web materials, such as treatment of the web by gases, heat, cold temperatures, vaporizing, spraying, etc.

During this immersion treatment, the web materials are generally passed through a range or battery of tanks containing the requisite chemical solutions by means of immersion rolls. Whenever it is desired to modify the the chemical solution or to clean the tanks or to add new chemicals, it has been the practice to bring the moving web te a complete halt and to stop all of the equipment in the line until the necessary changes have been made. In addition to labor and machine losses which are substantial, the quality of the product is deleteriously affected by frequent machine stops. An example of this operation as relates to a textile finishing plant would be one where a certain yardage of a given style of fabric is being impregnated with a particular formula of chemical ingredients. At its completion, the necessity of changying the chemical formulation arises. Ordinarily, this would be done by either stopping the machines in the line with the cloth still standing in hot equipment, or by allowing the end of the fabric to run so that it will continue on through the line.

- The-aforesaid problems 'are eiectively overcome by Patented Nov. Y22, 1960 ICC movement of the web material and shutting down of the entire operation.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of this invention to provide a novel battery or tandem arrangement for tanks in a web processing line, whereby removal, change-overs, or various modifications in the chemical solutions in the tanks may be conveniently effected without the necessity of halting the otherwise continuous movement of web materials through the processing line.

It is a further object of this invention to provide in combination with a unique battery or tandem arrangement for solution treatment tanks in a web processing line, novel means for raising and lowering a moving web or" material from and into the individual tanks and into and out of contact with the chemical solutions without the necessity of halting the otherwise continuous movement of the web material through the processing line.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a novel method for interchangeably processing a continuously advancing web of material at diierent points in a processing line without interrupting its normal continuous movement through the line.

Other objects and advantages of the instant invention will become more apparent from a review of the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the appended drawings where:

Figure l is a sectional view of several web treatment tanks disposed in a close tandem arrangement;

Figure 2 is a sectional view of various tandem arrangements for web treatment tanks similar to Figure 1, wherein the web is exposed to only a single immersion in each tank;

Figure 3 is a schematic View of a typical arrangement for a plurality of tandem web treatment tanks; and

Figure 4 is an enlarged, end elevational view of one immersion roller used in the tandem immersion roller assembly shown in Figure l, wherein the roller is adjustably disposed on the saddle or cradle frame for the rollers.

With further reference to the drawings and in particular to Figure l, the novel immersion tank assembly of the instant invention is generally comprised of several tanks 1 and 2 which make up a complete tank unit 3. In the case of where the tank unit 3 is made from a single vessel, the individual tanks 1 and 2 are separated from each other by a Wall 4. Each tank is provided with its own inlet pipe 5 and outlet pipe 6 which are disposed in lines controlled by suitable quick acting valves (not shown). The web material 7 may be a textile fabric which is being impregnated with a chemical solution 25, a web of paper or plastic material. It is fed to the individual tanks 1 and 2 through the medium of one or more idler rollers 8 and immersion rolls 9. Located adjacent the exit end of each of the tanks is a pair of squeeze rolls l@ for draining excess material on the web 7 back into a tank. Rolls 8 are mounted adjacent the entry end of the tank and squeeze rolls 10 are mounted over the drain portion 11 of the tanks by suitable means (not shown). A perforated manifold type pipe 12 may also be disposed about the top of each tank for the purpose of injecting cleaning uids into the tanks.

Depending upon the amount of time the web 7 v is to be immersed in any given tank, the immersion rolls 9 may be either of the single type shown in Figures 2 and 3 or of the plural type shown in Figure l. Any suitable means well known in the art may be used to lower the immersion rolls 9 along with the web 7 into the individual tanks. For example, in Figure l a simple cradle assembly 13 secured to the end of piston rod 14 of the piston and cylinder assembly 15 may be used. The ends of the immersion rolls may also be so arranged on the cradleV z mrltheKV cradle Aso constructed thatthe rolls 9 will be disposed in suitable channel shaped guideways 16 in the tanks as they move up and down in the tanks.

.7111. thecasefof?theradlegzassembly, 13 shown ,in4 Figure l, several immersion rolls 9 may be secured thereto. Each; ofthese rolls mayalso'be independently adjustable on the cradleassembly indicatedrinFigure 4. 'It is to be understoodof course, that if desired, the Vmiddle roll oflfthe three rrolls Yon the cradle Yassembly as shown in Figure v4 may be permanently lafxed to the top of Athe tank so that `itfdoes not move yrlp-andr down with the cradle assembly. In this instance lthe, cradle :13' may comprise a-'seriesQof `horizontalhars 17 and 18vwhich form a horizontal frame. Secured to bars; 17 are apair of spaced upstandingpjpes 19,Within which a-re'telescopicallyV mounted journal bearing members 20. A roll 9 is secured to the top ends of members 20 by means well known in the art. Pipes 19- and journal members 20 in turnA may be provided with a series of openings 21 and 22, which can be aligned. When aligned, a pin 23 may Lbe thrust through the openings and roll 9 will then be permanently fixed in the adjusted position desired. The web material 7 is threaded about the immersion rolls, squeeze rolls and guide rolls as itpasses through the several tanks.

The piston and cylinder assemblies of adjacent tanks 1 vand 2 may also be interconnected by a suitable valve means such as is shown somewhat diagrammatically in Figure 1. Thus, when the immersion rolls 9 in one tank are lowered, the immersion rolls in another tank will be automatically raised. This is accomplished as follows: Theright-hand piston andcylinder assembly 15 shown in Figure l or that disposed over tank 2 is connected to valve V30 by lines 31 and 32, while the left-hand piston and cylinder assembly is connected to valve'30 by lines 33 `and 34.' Valve 30 is connected to a suitable hyydrauflic luid source through entry line 35 and exit line 36. Valve 3i) maybe a solenoid controlled valve which during theV shitting of the spool therein in vone direction .will connect line 35 with lines 31 and 34 and lines 32 and 33 with line 36. Upon the shifting of the spool in the valve 30 in the opposite direction, lines 33 and 32 will be connected with line 35 and lines 31 and 34 with line 36.

Thetandem arrangement of the tanks 1 and 2 may be utilized in a wide variety of ways. For example, tanks l and 2 may both be lilled with the same chemical solution. The web material 7, however, is caused to pass through only one of these tanks at any given time, such as tank 1. When a-change-over of the solution in tank 1 is desired, all theoperator -has to do is to quickly raise the immersion rolls 91'and web '7 in tank 1 as indicated in Figure l while at the same time lowering the immersion rolls 9V and web 7 in tank 2. In this way, the forvwardmovemen-t of the web 7 may continue and ythe line is needed toclean the individual tanks, to replenish the chemical solutions therein, or to change the solutions of the tanks completely. When a series of twin or tandem tanks are employed such as is disclosed in Figure 3, the overall efficiency of the operation will be considerably enhanced. As indicated schematically in Figure 3, the tanks may also be closed by a suitable, slidable or hinged hood 26 whichis thenYV provided with suitable openings 27 for the pistonrod 14 and openings 28 for the advancingweb 71 in the event the tanks are to serve as vaporizing chambers or the like.

An advantageous *embodiment of the invention has been shownand described. It is Y'obvious that various changes and modications may be made therein without departing from the spirit andscope thereof as detined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A system for the treatment of a continuously advancng web, comprising at least two solution-containing tanks arranged in tandem, means for continuously advancing a taut web to be treated, Vacross said tanks, va vertically shiftable immersion roller associated With each tank in operative engagement with said advancing web, meansfor shifting said immersion rollers vertically into and out of said tanks, and means for synchronizing the direction and degree of the shifting movement, to move alternate immersion rollers in opposite directions and to maintain a constant tension on the web.

2. A system for the treatment of a continuously advancing web, comprising at least two solution-containing tanks arranged in tandem, a series of aligned supporting rollers arranged at spaced intervals above said tanks, means for continuously advancing -a taut web to be treated, over said supporting rollers, a vertically shiftable immersion roller associated with each tank in operative engagement with portions of said advancing web, between said spaced supporting rollers, means for shifting said immersion rollers vertically into and out of said tanks, and means for synchronizing the direction and degree of the shifting movement, to move alternate immersion rollers in opposite directions and to maintain a constant tension on the web.

3. A system for the treatment of a continuously advancing web, comprising atleast two solution-containing tanks arranged in tandem, means for continuously advancing a taut web to be treated across said tanks, a vertically shiftable cradle member associated with each tank, a plurality of immersion rollersV carried by each cradle member in operative engagement with said advancing web, means for shifting said cradle members and immersion rollers vertically into and out of said tanks, and means for synchronizing the direction and degree of the shifting movement, to move alternate cradle members in opposite directions and tomaintain a constant tension on the web.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 631,742 Gardner Aug. 22, 1899 775,694 Wisner Nov. 22, 1904 1,603,976 Nicholls Oct. 19,1926 1,940,749 Gwaltney Dec. 26, 1933 2,441,308 Bond May 11, 1948 2,751,829 Mears June 26,1956 

